1. The Ut Av Vår Hule (Out Of Our Caves) festival – a showcase for up and coming Norwegian musicians and artists – takes place every second year in old marble mines outside Fauske in Northern Norway, just inside the Arctic Circle.

2. The mines were a source of Norwegian Rose dolomite marble, used in the construction of New York’s UN Building and the Japanese Emperor’s Palace.

3. Many of the caves are still accessible, though for the safety of festival goers they are officially closed off due to the water that has flooded many of them. In some, however, old mining gear is still visible, coated in marble dust.

4. Behind the main stage, vast chunks of discarded marble tumble into a striking aquamarine pool, some boulders submerged like blocks of unusually heavy ice.

5. Abandoned buildings, many still containing machinery and tools, are used as venues for other stages and by artists preparing their work, though the message – No Safety Inside – remains clear.

6. Artist Ash Kh’s (AKA Ashraf Khuffash) installation of black doors climbing a marble slurry heap was especially impressive, and not unlike a Pink Floyd album cover.

7. Amidst the marble slurry mountain other participants had installed picnic tables, buckets and spades and other beach accessories whose colours stood out against the blinding white backdrop.

8.Some of those attending were keen to experiment with alternative forms of expression, overseen closely by organisers, naturally.

9. Friday’s opening act, 2x Slagwerk (Two Drummers) performed a challenging but exciting set of experimental rhythm and dub. Like most of the musicians, they are currently unsigned and chosen by organisers wishing to provide a showcase for their work.

10. Artists had created more subtle installations amidst the algae and weeds of the the stream that ran through the festival grounds, Alpine villages and rubber duck ponds amongst them.

11. Musicians Sondre Justad and Marte Røyeng had never performed live together before. They arrived two days early and spent time in the grounds seeking inspiration for their music after other members of Justad’s band, Giraff, were unavailable to appear.

12. A snake built out of painted half-tyres emerges, blinking, out of one of the caves into the bright light.

13. Local musician Æ performed an acoustic set inside one of the derelict buildings. He lives on an island some five hours by boat from the nearby city of Bodø.

14.Northern Norwegian drinking rituals often involve good natured physical combat, and Ut Av Vår Hule is no different. This pair are scrambling amidst the dust by the bar, a tent whose legs are levelled on blocks of marble.

15.Fipp, from Bodø, were one of over twenty acts to perform for free over the weekend. Their fierce combination of post-rock and jazz, led by French Horn player Vida Engar, proved especially popular with the small but passionate crowd.

16.Thanks to Northern Norway’s midnight sun, it never gets dark during the festival, though the sun dips down below the horizon for a short hour or two, lighting up the sky different shades of pink and orange every night.

17.Ash Kh’s trail of doors provided a surreal vision that Aldous Huxley would no doubt have approved at the top of the marble slurry mountain.

18.4.30am, and the festival grounds are finally deserted by partygoers and artists, revealing a bare but stunning landscape, the main stage now abandoned like the mines themselves.

19.As dawn arrives, it’s time for the last of the festivalgoers – wrapped in blankets to shield them from the cold of the small hours – to head to bed. In the background, Fauske is preparing for a new day.

1.The most dramatic costume of the day by far was this Gorilla replete with a small palm tree.

2.Goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…

3.…ooooooooooooooooolllllllllll!

4.The crowd was massive. Just massive.

5.Pirate of the Rio de la Plata screams, saxophone in hand.

6. This woman did not uncross her fingers for the entire game.

7.Governor Macri makes an appearance and smiles for the camera.

8.Eber Ludueña, an Argentine comedian, tops himself on the big screen.

9. A fan who has painstakingly painted his ears gives the thumbs up.

10.Dale! Dale! We score again! Goooooooooooolllllll!

11. It’s pretty much decided. Extra time’s almost off the clock.

12.A grateful fan nearly sheds tears.

13.Argentina’s won the game.

14.Magic number 10, once that of Maradona, now Messi’s, on a Boston terrier.

1. In this traditional dance, called the cajelo, the ladies swing back and forth displaying their dresses and the men alternate in whipping the ground, meant to symbolize preparing the land for planting. It shows the love/hate relationship with the land (pachamama, also meaning “time” and “the universe), as it provides nourishment as well as stress if the crops are ailing. Of course, the next person I asked said it was a satirical re-enactment of the whip-wielding Spanish landlords after their conquest of the area.

2. In this Aymara group recently exiting the stadium competition to tour through the streets, it´s pretty obvious how much work goes into the costumes. Many individuals will spend a month´s salary or more on a get-up, and their skills on the zampoña (Pan pipes) and bombos (drums) are there to match it.

3. This Quechua group had no problem getting the crowd riled up while playing the pinquillos.

4. The diabladas are among the more notorious costumes of the dances and are quite frightening at first.

5. It’s shocking to see leagues of them sashaying down the street.

6.It´s no surprise these guys are commanding the diabladas through the parade.

7. The ever-popular gorilla costumes are in homage to the bounty of the jungle.

8.The Virgen de la Candelaria makes an appearance in Puno´s main plaza (Plaza de Armas).

9. Making their presence known, the morenadas stop frequently to pop off their helmets for a breather and a beer.

10. These ladies in their trajes de luz look skyward hoping for the crowd to splash them with water under the afternoon sun.

1.Wall painted with my friends Stik and Blok in Santiago de Chile. We just improvised, observed the environment and painted the whole weekend.

2.Painting in München, Germany at a old factory. Loomit manages this place and gave me the chance to leave my mark. The wall already had the yellow part painted so I improvised with other colors and related München with Santiago. The yellow is the beer.

3.KELP Tag in Valparaiso, Chile. Just trying out a new color. Florecent green (it’s not florescent at night).

4.Wall painted in Concepción, Chile. I was invited by a friend with 3 other painters (Bufox, Rio, Deow) I painted my part to make it relate to the fishing boats from this big harbor/port in the southern part of Chile. It is my favourite region with marvellous landscapes, volcanos, lakes and a flora/fauna that lblows you away.

5.Wall painted in La Reina (Santiago, Chile). It represents the subway system in Santiago, especially the line I had to take every day to University during my studies.

6.Wall painted in Silz, Austria with the German graffiti legend Loomit. This wall is big, like 20mts x 4.5mts. I did all the letters and some color landscapes. Loomit did a very beautiful bird and german pixos. Nice weekend with the whole town visiting us, chatting, inviting us for lunch/dinner and a party.

7. I painted this in Santiago de Chile in January, 2010. It represents some travels I made my travels through Spain, Iceland and Scottland. Water (blue), The Bull (black) and the landscapes of Spain. Painted in five days with the best radio station in Chile as ambiente. Co-creator: Radio Corazón!

8. Painted in January 2010 in Bellavista, a little sector in Santiago de Chile. Again the birds were everywhere.

9.Wall painted in München, Germany in November 2009 at -15° C temperatures. Loomit painted next to the wall which was also my first wall with him. It represents birds, lots of birds that were there (it is a Metro Station) while we were painting. Birds observe and have a global concept of what happens below, the same as graff writers. We observe!

10.Graffiti event in Concepción, Chile (Concegraff it was called). My part is the two red surfaces. One is the Trauco and the other explains the theme of the Event. Identidad de Origen means
Origen Identity and refers, in Chilean history, to our ancient people and indians. Trauco is a myth that comes from Chiloé and is a small character that lives in the woods. The legend goes that every time a girl would get lost in the woods, Trauco would get her pregnant. The story varies because it is a myth, but everytime a girls gets pregnant in an unexpectedly we say the Trauco was there.

11. A legendary wall, maybe one of the coolest because it shows and explains graffiti on trains and how it all started.

12.Work at a Puma store. Painted in 2009.

1.Led by Marina Charles (pictured here in blue), the tour starts at Tec’s in Chacarita. Many artists collaborated to cover the largest side of the artist’s home including Parbo, Chu, Defi, nasa, and Bleep.

2.This piece by Gualicho was finished in three days. The artist works alone and quickly.

3.Two views of fenced in animals by RunDon’tWalk. Giant red creature: Tester, Big Yellow Robot: Bleep.

4. Luchadors by Jaz and Nemeremen.

5.The founder of Run Don’t Walk Collective shows us how it’s done. I was star-struck when I saw him pull out the stencil I had so admired in other locations throughout the city.

6.One gallery from the tour, Casa L’Inc. Works are affordable and appealing.

7.Across from Casa l’Inc, bits and pieces of a wall where many have contributed. Tightrope walker: (artist unknown), Man with a Stick: Jaz, Bat and face stancils: BsAsStencil, Tu basura es mi tesoro (Your trash is my treasure): RunDon’tWalk.

8. Stencils at Tegui: Vomito Attack. An upscale restaurant has employed Vomito Attack to assure the eyes of all passing pedestrians have only one place to turn. This photo is a compilation of about 20 photos. For more details, you can check out the process on the collective’s Flickr Page.

9.Outside a photo studio, artists have surrounded this bus hangar with giant pieces. The Devil Head is by GrouLou, and in the background are Ever’s giant heart and RunDon’tWalk’s head of a smoking man in 3-D glasses.

10.Collaboration on a house. The owner was approached by artists who, sketches in hands, made a case for this impressive piece. Massive pieces like this discourage taggers from leaving their mark. This wall is a collaboration by Triangulo Dorado.

11. A piece in Palermo very close to Hollywood in Cambodia by Ever.

12.The tour ends at Hollywood in Cambodia. A bar and gallery, Hollywood in Cambodia is a two storey riot of art and stencil work with pieces for sale in the back. Dog with camera head: RunDon’tWalk, Decapitated Fish: Tec, 3-D Geometry: Nerf, sailor cat and bird: PumPum, any help in further identifying artists depicted here would be appreciated.

1. The calm before the firestorm.

2. The sun begins to set.

3. The Sydney sky darkens.

4. Sydney switches it on.

5.The Harbour slowly wakes up.

6. The Opera House in technicolour.

7. The show begins.

8. Lights in the night sky.

9. Firework frenzy.

10. The harbour in pink and white..

11.A cloud of smoke covers the bridge.

11.Arc de Harbour Bridge.

This photo of an Atlanta, Georgia tunnel is by Brian T. Murphy. This is Murphy’s personal website, or peruse his gorgeous images on Flickr.

Paper street art from Houston, Texas by Flickr photographer EDgAr H.

This photo courtesy of Axel Goyeneche of K.E.L.P. who says of the image and his work and website: All the pictures at the KELP Flickr account are walls I painted (alone or with friends). By the way www.kelp.cl is a webportal, the most visited worldwide “about graffiti meets design,” and all the K.E.L.P walls can be seen here.

There are hidden messages in this politically loaded piece from Olympia, Washington. You can pop over to dreamsjung on Flickr to see how many you identified.

Photo by Matt Kowalczyk AKA Nomadic Entrepreneur on Flickr who credits the artist of this piece seen in Leblon, Rio as Gemeos.

The ubiquitous Maradona – a portrait of the player in his glory days before he came into his more contemporary look as he clings to youth through a series of progressively more obvious plastic surgeries that make you wonder if he has to inflate his face in the morning when he shaves. Photo from Buenos Aires by Diego_3336.

Photo from Morocco by Ryan Ritchie who says, “It was the first thing that caught my eye upon arriving in Essouaria.” Check out his Flickr Page where he goes by ryantron..

Photo (and feature photo) of a Kansas City wall by aeionic who says: Graffiti artwork, like most street art is often illegal and therefore the better works are often executed off the beaten track where they can be created with less time contraints and less risk of arrest. The artists are also reclusive and worried about prosecution, so a little footwork is often necessary to locate the better works.

This female artist, Femme9, often creates faces and collaborates with others such as Motor in this photo. One enjoyable aspect of street art is the sheer exuberance of discovering young counterculture artists. Combined with an enduro motorcycle and a digital camera, one can cover a lot of alleyways, abandonments, and railroad tracks. Ahhhh, freedom!

Photo by Michael Hughes from Walsall, England. View the original photo and more on his Flickr page where he’s known as micheal.jh.

As seen in San Francisco, this piece of street art knows no true location. Photo by Franco Folini.

A mixture of iconic imagery and bright colors make this wall of stencils pop and provoke the imagination in Tokyo. Photo by antjeverana

Walls from Wroclaw, Poland by mr. zero. Visit mr. zero on MySpace.

Sweet romance and a bike in San Francisco. Photo by Salim Virji.

A face repeated with photographic fidelity in St.Margrethen, Switzerland. Photo by Kecko.

Street Art São Paolo, Photo by journalist Adriana Paiva who credits the artist as osgemeos. You can check out Paiva’s website here, or click here for a look at her Flickr photo stream.

This tunnel from Sydney University won’t let the eyes rest. Photo by Str1ke.

Cute little doggie from Tokyo. Photo by yeowatzup.

1. Since 1986 Miss.tic has been spraying her characteristic black and white ladies across Paris, typically accompanied by a short comment – a play on words relating to the image.

2. Miss.tic’s style has lead her to appear not only in multiple exhibitions but also as the logo of a car rental firm and on a range of handbags and accessories

3. The invasion of Paris started in 1998 with a number of mosaic tiles inspired by the classic game. ‘Invader’ has now spread to 35 other cities.

4. Nemo is known for his male silhouettes which appear in various poses throughout Paris.

5. Not all ‘tags’ (as graffiti is known in French) will gain recognition.

6. Mosko have been spray painting their colourful animals on drab walls since the early 90s. The 19th and 20th Arrondissements are particularly popular with the artists.

7. The popularity of several artists have seen collaborations of the their works in many areas of the city.

8. Jérôme Mesnager is one of the pioneers of Paris street art with his ‘stick men’ that have been appearing in the city since 1983.

9. Paper figures and designs are now becoming popular among urban artists, replacing the traditional stencil and spray paint.

10.New masterpieces appear on the streets every week, so keep your eyes open next time you visit.

1. The mercado is situated in an atmospheric building that resembles a train station. Windows in the roof let in lots of light, and there’s an old-timey clock tower in the center. Joint’s got class.
All photos: a song under the sugar sugar + author

2. All the restaurants are basically the same…and they all want YOU! If you don’t have the dismissive head shake down, you’ll likely be bullied into sitting in the first chair you pass.

3. Each restaurant has up to three side-by-side operations going on: the bar, exposed tables, and a “fancier” enclosed dining room.

4. We finally settled on the bar at Estancia del Puerto. One of the asadores tosses a log into the central fire, while our boisterous host (let’s call him Diego) scans the aisles for other passersby to shout over.

5. The full spread.

6. Before long, our selections come out. Let’s see…we’ve got a couple of gigantic sweetbreads (molleja), blood sausage (morcilla), regular sausage (chorizo), “Munich-style” sausage (this was super dense and kinda disgusting), red bell pepper (morrón), and a baked potato.

7. Nothing like a meal by the fire.

8. My wife tapped out early, so I was forced (arm twist) to put away the leftovers.

9. The work on the parrilla never stopped. Dripping with sweat, Diego joked that he stayed hydrated by downing red wine. He then promptly reached under the counter, hoisted a gigantic cup of iced tea, and took a five-second pull.

10. You can’t see me in this one, but by the time it was all over, I felt just like that parrillador in the background. I was ready to stumble home and shower off the meat sweats.

Sitting atop Bangkok’s second tallest skyscraper, the Sky Bar at Sirocco is the best place in the city for an amazing view and a stiff drink.

The designers were big on light effects when they designed Lebua. The Sky Bar lights up and changes colors constantly. A few floors below at Breeze, Lebua’s seafood restaurant, there’s a glass walkway full of LED lights that takes some courage to walk across.

Looking down on the restaurant, Sirocco features a live jazz band from the US, playing hits from greats like Ella Fitzgerald and Nina Simone.

A couple floors above the tables at Sirocco sits another bar called Distil. They have an oyster bar, amazing sushi and a kick ass female DJ spinning fun house records.

Sirocco’s a sexy spot for a date because of low tables tucked into corners right at the edge of the glass balcony.

Leaning up against the glass and starring down to the streets below can induce vertigo. Nothing a martini won’t cure!

1. University students release a sky lantern or ‘khom loy’, a small hot air balloon made from rice paper and bamboo. Khom loy are symbols for letting go of all one’s troubles and worries.

2. A procession of floats, representing elements of Northern Thai history and culture works its way from the city center to the Ping River.

3. A tourist takes a picture of a model and her float during the parade.

4. Candle rafts or ‘krathong’ are filled with offerings and joss sticks before being set afloat in the Ping River. As well as honoring the water goddess and Gautama Buddha, it’s believed that ‘krathong’ carry away bad parts of their launchers.

5.A man searches for offerings of small change among ‘krathong washed up on the riverbank. The raiders remain discreet in Chiang Mai, but this practice has become a major problem in Bangkok.

6. ‘Khom loy’ being released by Tha Phae gate.

7. Sparklers are often attached to ‘khom loy’ and lit before takeoff.

8. ‘Khom loy’ are far from foolproof – a quick gust of wind or misplaced lighter will set the set one alight.

9.A group of revelers release several lanterns at once.

10.During the holiday and the few days preceding it, the streets by the river are lined with stalls selling food, krathong and fireworks.

11. Teenagers set off an enormous rocket from a bridge over the Ping River.

12. A young man releases an oversized khom loy.

13. Loy Krathong technically takes place on the night of the full moon, but the air above Chiang Mai is filled with fireworks, khom loy and gunpowder smoke for days on end.

14. A firework explodes near a hotel rooftop.

1. Once upon a time, a long time ago, Berlin was a swamp inhabited by giants. They planted roots in the water which slowly grew up into trees, whose trunks they later used to build shelters.

2. In one of these huts lived a Little Giantess together with her uncle, Big Giant. He had given her a wonderful boat in which she could travel across the continent. But one day land and sea monsters tore the city in two: And one of the two pieces was walled up.

3. When this happened the Big Giant and the Little Giantess were separated.

4. He was so angry that he threw himself into the river and from there he wandered through the depths of the oceans looking for the sleeping geyser on the seat floor.

5. Many years passed but eventually he found it.

6. He dragged it underneath the city walls and woke it rudely. The earth shook, the walls crumbled and washed away…

7. …a strong wind made the Little Giantess’ boat start moving and pulled roots of the trees up into the air.

8.When this was all over, the Big Giant climbs out of the river and starts searching.

9. The Little Giantess wakes up beside her boat…

10. …and discovers a sack of letters which were never delivered.

11. She decides she is going to deliver the post and on her way round the city…

12. …she is reunited with her big uncle, the Big Giant.